19+ Proposal Examples & Templates in Word

You may have heard the phrase, “I have a proposal for you” from friends, relatives, strangers, or even when you’re watching your favorite TV shows or movies. In the real world, handing out proposals occur on a daily basis and they are common in business dealings as well as in personal transactions. A proposal is basically defined as a document that offers a solution to a problem or a course of action in response to a need.

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Proposals are often used in the fields of business, academics and research. They are usually the first step before an actual study is pursued or continued. In this article, you’ll find a few proposal examples and templates for you to refer to. We have also provided some tips so that you do not only write an effective proposal, but also accomplish writing one at a much more efficient rate. Read on below!

Elements of a Good Proposal

Listed below are the elements of a good proposal. Make sure to include all the elements we listed so that your proposal will be approved immediately.

1. Objectives: The objectives are one of the most important aspects of a proposal. The objectives basically act as a blueprint on what you want to achieve in the study. Without objectives, the proposal does not have a clear goal and the proposal will definitely end up in a messy and unorganized structure. Make sure to specify the objectives when you will be incorporating them in the proposal. You may also see project proposal examples.

2. Methodology: The methodology is required for any type of proposal (i.e. business, academic, government, medical, etc.), with the methodology comprising of the research problem, methodological approach (quantitative or qualitative), research design, data collection and analysis procedures, and institutional resources. The methodology will comprise most of the proposal, so make sure to write it in detail.

3. Basic institution information: In the proposal, you will most likely be representing the private or public institution you are connected with. There is no need to elaborate on the institution as long as you are not creating a study about it. In the proposal, only list down a short profile of the said institution (location and date of establishment, products and services, number of staff or employees). These information should be listed in the first few pages of the proposal.

4. Projections: If you are creating a business proposal (finance, sales or marketing), you should also list down the financial projections. These financial projections include profitability ratios (profit margin, return on assets, return on equity, etc.) as well as the return on investment and income statements. You don’t need to fully discuss the projections first as you are still creating a proposal. So instead, only present a summary of the projections.

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Steps to Designing a Good Proposal

Follow these steps when designing an effective and detailed proposal.

1. Do your research: Before you start writing the proposal, you need to do extensive research first. You don’t want to base your proposals on assumptions alone as readers will question the validity of its contents. In actuality, a proposal should rely on facts and verified information alone and never on assumptions.

Depending on the type of proposal you are creating, gather specific information related to your proposal. Use various sources such as books, journals, publications, and websites; although, you still need to verify sources coming from the internet since there are many websites that release false and often unverified information. You may also see student proposal examples.

2. Gather information from respondents: If your proposal requires gathering information from respondents, you should identify what data-gathering procedure you will use. Also, you should identify the respondents that will be participating in your study. Take note that the data gathering method you will use will depend on the type of proposal you are making.

Also, never fabricate the data you have gathered from respondents. Ethics is important for any type of study, especially a proposal.

3. Follow standard format: Most proposals have a specific format to follow, though this often depends on the institution or organization who creates the guidelines or policies. For an academic proposal, universities usually form a partnership with each other on the details they want to incorporate in the proposals written by students as well as professors and instructors. You may also see short proposal examples.

4. Review and revise: Once you have finished creating the proposal, it’s now time to check the proposal for errors in terms of grammar, sentence structure, and spelling errors. You also need to check and verify the information that you incorporated in the proposal.

Simple Tips for an Excellent Proposal Layout

Here are some tips you can use to create an excellent proposal layout. Unlike some types of posters, tarpaulins, or other kinds of graphic materials, a proposal does not need to have a strict policy regarding layouts since they are only documents. However, there are some guidelines you still need to follow.

Use a 8.5″ x 11″ paper size: Choosing the right paper size for your proposal is important. The only recommended paper size for your proposal should either be 8.5 x 11 or 8.5 x 14, but it is highly suggested that you use 8.5 x 11. Although more text can fit in the 8.5 x 14 paper size, the other size is more of a standard when it comes to documents. Be careful not to utilize the entire paper space as you still need to allocate borders for printing purposes.

Apply proper alignment: When creating the proposal, there are four types of alignment: left, right, center, and justify. But for a proposal, especially a business proposal, always use justify. Although the left alignment is commonly used in most documents, justify is more formal and the layout (as well as the text) looks more clean and organized.

Create headings and subheadings: Headings and subheadings should always be applied in a document, more so in a proposal. This helps you categorize the content of the proposal as well as make it easy for the readers to follow the important points listed in the document. You may also see coaching proposal examples.

Use an appropriate font size: Choose an appropriate font size for the text that you will be incorporating in the proposal. Use different font sizes for the headings, subheadings, and the rest of the content (sentences, paragraphs) as this will help you organize the proposal by dividing it into different sections.

Use professional fonts: There are over a hundred fonts available around the internet, with most being available for free. But not all can be used in a proposal, as you should only use professional business fonts. A proposal is a formal document, so there is no question that you should also use formal fonts. Some fonts that you can use include: Arial, Calibri, Cambria, Didot, Georgia, Garamond, Helvetica, Times New Roman, and Trebuchet MS.

Types of Proposals

Business Proposal: This proposal is mainly used for business transactions such as investments, partnerships, and other business dealings.

Academic Proposal: This proposal is mainly used for academic research in various fields such as education, medicine, agriculture, and sports to name a few.

Government Proposal: This proposal is created by individuals working in government institutions, in which the proposals mostly relate to poverty alleviation, public safety and security, tourism, and job creation.

Proposal FAQs

What is a proposal?

A proposal is a document that offers a solution to a problem or a course of action in response to a need. Proposals are used in various fields such as business and academics to name a few.

How do you create a proposal?

Why is a proposal important?

A proposal is important because, as previously mentioned, it offers a solution or a course of action to an existing problem. A proposal also provides an opportunity for a new study to be pursued.

We hope you found this article to be informative as well as helpful when you will be creating your own proposal for whatever purpose. We also provided some examples and templates which you can download for free.